Box2565

Not only are you an excellent photographer, you're brave! :roll:

Fantastic photos!! I really like your first photo and also the shot of the Tyler Davidson fountain. You mentioned the fire at Smitty's. There are pictures of the fire on the CFD History site: 3 Alarm fire 1427-1433 Vine 04-28-10.

Alfred looks like he is the Man in that part of town! Nice photos, it's so enjoyable to see OTR on the rebound.

Looks like an interesting place. I'm surprised to see Barnes & Noble in a Downtown location instead of a mall.

"Pennsylvania Grit"? Just exactly what was that place? Nice photos, an interesting looking town.

I've never had the pleasure of visiting the museums in Auburn. I've always wanted to go to one of the auto auctions and watch folks spend lots of money! I'll look for this event next year. It's the perfect excuse to go to Youngs (chocolate milk shake - yum).

Alpine Hose No. 2 is a great looking old firehouse. A really nice set of photos.

Fantastic set of photos! BTW, part of the reason that Detroit has been singled out for it's devastation is the large scale burning of the city that continues year round. Detroit has more fires than New York City (or any city) and most of the vacant lots that can be seen in the photos were the result of arson. Television crews from around the world having been going to Detroit for 30 years to document Devils Night and show just how crazy us Americans are.

I was amazed with Wheeling from the first time we drove through in 1971 or 72. It looked like a big city (and still looks like a decent sized town) with lots of interesting buildings. Too bad that it's one of those places that everyone is leaving...

Really enjoyed your photos, especially those 50's vintage Studebakers (and the fire engines of course). Wish I had known about this event, would have been worth the drive!

Is there anything being built in place of the buildings that are coming down?

This sign was on a building on the east side of Downtown Zanesville along U.S. 22 & 40 (the National Road) when photographed around April of 1990. I love the owl perched on the cigar "branch". Unfortunately the building and sign have not survived.

This sign is in fairly good condition excpt for the right end, which explains what "Larabee's Best The Economy ..." was. Beneath that right end of the wall an old Pepsi logo is coming through in red, white, and blue with the slogan "More Bounce Per Ounce" above.. Beneath Larabee's is the lettering "Swans Down" which is a cake flour that was produced by General Mills and these days by Reily Foods of New Orleans. There are several signs overlaying each other here. Along the top where "John Hoffman & Sons" iss painted, "Tumey's Tavern" is showing through. Other lettering reads "Finest Quality" and "Grocery Store". There is so much going on with this wall that I can't decipher everything. Maybe someone can stop by and spend an hour unravelling the mysteries! If you want to see this one in person, the wall is located at 1st & Perry Sts. in Vincennes, Indiana.

Interesting memory and sign to go with it! Since it is gone I guess that wall is now one of The Untouchables... (I'm good at really bad puns)

This photo shows a small roadside gas station with a couple of pumps. The pump on the left has a clamshell shaped glode showing that pump carried Shell gasoline. Globe #2 has a name on it but the writing is much to small to read. In addition to the gas station there are tourist cabins that come complete with a bath. Parked out in the field is a beautiful 1920's vintage auto. Maybe some sharp eyed person can provide the year and make. Check out the trunk, which is a trunk. The fender mounted spare looks like a whitewall tire. Does this location look familiar to anyone? Identifying the location of this postcard would be nice!

That's a great sign! I don't recall seeing any other wall signs written in Czech!

Just visible over the roof of a building is this ad for Mail Pouch tobacco. Underneath the Mail Pouch lettering is another ghost sign. This sign and several others can be found on Commercial Street in Mingo Junction, Ohio. This extremely compact town along the Ohio River is dominated by railroad tracks and a functioning steel mill.

This Mobiloils wall was revealed after a building had been demolished on Grand River Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. The color and graphics were just fantastic. The Gargoyle emblem looks perfect (for a 60 year old sign) and the motor oil can looks as though you could reach over, unscrew the cap and pour a gallon of "Light Medium Body" right into your 1923 LaSalle (Actually "Light Medium Body" is most likely a type of beer these days). I took this photo in October of 1988 and during my return trips to Detroit it became obvious that the building with this incredible wall was no more. A great loss for art lovers everywhere.

Schoenhofen Brewing Co. of Chicago brewed Edelweiss. This beautiful sign shows a shield shaped logo with a large "S' in the center with the Alps in the background and the flowers growing in the front. Like many well preserved wall signs this gem was uncovered after the building next door was destroyed by fire. A wrong turn near downtown Milwaukee led to my discovery of the sign at the intersection of 4th & National Streets. Since I took the photo (1988 or so) the building on which it was painted has been torn down.

This great little country store was located 18 miles west of Cadillac, Michigan and 3 miles south of the village of Caberfaead and is in the Manistee National Forest. A U.S. Post Office, which has the old style blue and red mailbox out front, was operated from this building. Sinclair gasoline is available from a pair of pumps and a porcelain Sinclair sign identifies the station.

Hi, I had mentioned in my post on May 17, 2008 that Tri-County was originally an open-air shopping center. This morning I rediscovered the post card that I have of the original configuration. Tri-County opened in September of 1960 at the intersection of Princeton Pike and Kemper Road in Springdale, Ohio. Originally constructed as an open air shopping plaza the complex was enclosed and expanded in the late 1960's/early 1970's. The anchor department stores were Shillito's on the north near the Circle Freeway (I-275) and Pogue's on the south side. Both of these chains are now only a memory. Also, I don't recall the use of the designation of I-275 until 1970 or so. As a kid that road was always the Circle Freeway. Note the lack of development around the area. Construction of the Circle Freeway began in 1958 and it does not appear to be open at the time of this photo (which I'm guessing was taken when the complex opened). Note the subdivision off of Crescentville Road in Sharonville which has not been built out. A small stretch of I-75 can be seen along the top of the photo approximately where the Ikea store is today. Only farms can be seen in what was then Union Township (now West Chester).

Mayfield's Jersey-Maid Ice Cream shared the same wall as B. Martin in downtown Harriman, Tennessee. For some unknown reason I didn't photograph the remains of the older sign. Mayfield Dairy Farms was founded in Athens, Tennessee and still produces Jersey-Maid brand products. It would have been nice if the Jersey-Maid logo that features a cow's head was painted on this wall!

The Avalon Bar was still open for business in Mingo Junction, Ohio when this photo was taken in August of 2006. The sign for the lounge is still bold and clear - Liquor Beer Wine Fine Foods. Above the Avalon sign is what remains of a Mail Pouch wall ad. "Treat Yourself to the Best" is lettered with the S & T covered by ivy. At least one other wall sign is beneath the Mail Pouch ad.

This station was located at the junction of U.S. 31-W & KY 61. The building appears to be a station designed by Walter Teague. This location is fairly typical of most Texaco outlets from this time period except for the building on the left side of the card. Also built of the same style and with the outward appearance of the gas station, the other building looks like a cafe.

Besides a couple of gas pumps with art deco styling there are a variety of signs at this gasoline station on U.S. 219. Two versions of Atlantic signs are mounted on poles out front, the older Atlantic White Flash and the red and white Atlantic sign. Over the entranceway is an announcement of: Dinners Chicken Steak Ham so the Old Stone Tavern was still functioning as a restaurant. The always present Coca - Cola sign points the way to the trailer camp. There are also Duquense beer and Imperial Ice Cream signs in front. A 1937 Chevrolet flatbed truck is parked down by the bridge. This building still stands and is known as Railey's Stone Tavern which is located near the north end of the Route 219 Deep Creek Lake Bridge in Oakland, Maryland.